Bills getting healthier with streaking Titans looming
by Brian Galliford on Nov 9, 2009 12:51 PM EST
in Buffalo Bills News
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PrintThe Buffalo Bills returned to the practice field on Monday after their weekend of rest, relaxation, and with any luck, dramatically increased football skill. The week's hiatus appears to have done some good for the team's overall health, as a report from WGR 550 this morning indicates. Here's a quick glance at where the Bills are getting healthy, and where they're still hurting.
+ Trent Edwards practiced fully today and, according to the WGR report, it's looking like he'll be ready to resume starting duties next Sunday in Tennessee. Edwards practiced fully last week, but it appears he got through the weekend unscathed and is ready to get back into the lineup.
+ BuffaloBills.com reports that Shawn Nelson returned to the practice field on Monday as well.
+ Jonathan Scott practiced fully and also appears ready to return to the lineup, according to BuffaloBills.com - which is good timing, really, as fill-in Jamon Meredith missed practiced Monday and is expected to miss another week or two. Scott would, as usual, start at right tackle against a still-feisty Titans pass rush.
+ Aaron Schobel and Kyle Williams missed practice on Monday. Schobel is dealing with a groin injury, while Williams' knee injury was expected to keep him out 2-3 weeks. It's quite early in the week, so there's still a (strong?) chance that both will play this weekend, but clearly the defensive line as a whole is a situation worth monitoring.
+ Keith Ellison also missed practice Monday. Buffalo's leading tackler has a lingering quad issue. If he can't play, Paul Posluszny will likely be flanked by Chris Draft and Nic Harris on Sunday. Yikes.
+ The defensive backfield is getting quite healthy. Terrence McGee, as we mentioned early last week, had his knee scoped and is not yet ready to return to the practice field. There's an outside shot that he plays this weekend, but it's more likely that he returns on November 22 in Jacksonville. If he can't play, Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty would see increased playing time. The health is coming at safety, where Jairus Byrd, Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott all practiced fully. With the emergence of Byrd, that's as solid a trio of safeties as you'll find in the NFL.
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I began having nightmares of the VY game of a couple of years ago.....last night.
Where VY took over the game and beat the Bills single handedly………
Gonna need a big slice of cake tonight :-(
Pass the chocolate cake!
by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 9, 2009 12:55 PM EST reply actions
Remember what Young did to Kelsay at the end of the first half in that game?!? I’ll never forget that!
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Nov 9, 2009 3:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
HAHA
oh man yeah………lol.
Pass the chocolate cake!
by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 9, 2009 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
What's the "Yikes" about???
“Keith Ellison also missed practice Monday. Buffalo’s leading tackler has a lingering quad issue. If he can’t play, Paul Posluszny will likely be flanked by Chris Draft and Nic Harris on Sunday. Yikes.”
This proposed starting LB trio is about as good as any we’ve put out there this season so far outside of week 1 when we had all our starters playing for a few series.
I am actually looking forward to seeing if Nic Harris will improve with more and more play time with the #1 Def. against #1 Off. talent. He seems like he can really tackle in the open field while running and reading screens well. He has to improve on the inside run stuffing and shooting the gaps, etc. Hopefully he can improve into another Darius Bryd surprise for the Bills? He certainly can’t be worse than Buggs or Palmer for the brief time they were starting.
Jairus.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Nov 9, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
he can’t play, Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty would see increased playing time
I hope more Youboty than Corner – i’ve wanted Ashton to get a good look for a while now -nows as good a chance as any.
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying
Trent Edwards - Backup QB until furthur notice. Care to prove me wrong Trent?
Give me Youboty for sure
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Nov 9, 2009 3:16 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Happiest to see....
Donte back. I am hoping he will help out with the def stopping the run. He was all over the field before with run support and we will need him based on what we have over the rest of the season.
I think we will see more of Youboty if McGee is out; but then again, with how McGee is, he will most likely play.
Good to see our safeties finally getting healthy, I would love to see some 3 safety sets on D with Poz and Harris as LB.
There really isn’t any doubt in my mind about Schobel playing – he could not practice all week and wouldn’t look it come game day.
Wouldn’t mind seeing Williams back, if anything to help the rotation, though I don’t think that cures our run D ails at all…
I was born in Buffalo, and NO, it's not a suburb of New York City
and with any luck, dramatically increased football skill.
BWahahahaha. :-)
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
hahahaha..... but should have said "with an insane amount of luck"
"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa
If Ellison can’t go I fully expect Scott to play at LB instead of Harris.
I have a hard time saying McGee won’t play this weekend. He got torched by the Dolphins last year when he shouldn’t have been playing. Maybe this week is a week where the trainers tell him to sit down.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
Edwards is working with Buffalo’s top receivers, Terrell Owens(notes) and Lee Evans(notes), an indication he’s prepared to reclaim his job.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
More like reinserted by default
How I wish it could say “won” or “earned back”
"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa
health
God i really hope these guys can stay on the field this time around, cause its like every game someone goes down. Will we ever know what we have as a team? we look so promising to start the season, now we can’t keep a Tackle healthy to protect our QB or a LB to make a tackle, not to mention a safety, staying healthy is hudge for any team sucess, so when i hear our fans saying fire him or, bench him, or they suck, it kind a bother me cause when guys go down as quicky its really hard to judge the team or the coaches. When you look at WK 1 tape and the tapes after wk 3 you begin to see why we’ve been strugglin, thats what injuries can do when a team has little to no depth. GO BILLS in the second half hope we prove the doubters wrong cause i still BILLEAVE
by TheFranchise242000 on Nov 9, 2009 2:12 PM EST reply actions
DJ and the FO have put the team in this situation. Injuries always happen, but the impact is significantly greater on the Bills. There is little or no experienced depth…or a credible plan that doesn’t involve starting other teams castaways, or rookies…even if it requires them to change positions.
I’m just speculating, but I think that the preference for undersized players and the reliance on youngsters leaves us more vulnerable to injuries. It’s difficult to prove, but it’s almost like the few solid guys need (or feel the need) to overextend themselves, putting their bodies at greater risk. I also don’t know if their is an issue with the conditioning program (which has been the same since Rusty Jones was let go several years ago).
I’m afraid, that this team lost too many critical players to return to Week 1-2 form; Butler and Mitchell to name a couple.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
DJ and the FO have put the team in this situation. Injuries always happen, but the impact is significantly greater on the Bills.
Seriously? How many teams can realistically play their 4th string RT and still not see any drop off. That’s what the Bills did when Butler, Scott, and Meredith were out with injury and Chambers had to step in.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
by MattRichWarren on Nov 9, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
Yes, but to the same degree?
My point is that after Butler, there is a cliff like drop off in talent. The same is true for other positions such as linebackers…which may serve as a better example. A few years ago, we used to have Crowell, Stamer and Hagan as back-ups for Spikes, Fletcher and Posey. Crowell was an outstanding back-up that would eventually start, the others would work in a pinch.
In the Jauron era we used to have Digiorgio and Ellison as back-ups. Digiorgio was injured before the season started and Ellison is currently starting (to the dismay of a few). Who do we now have as competent back-ups? At outside linebacker there are a couple of rookies backing up Corto, a second year special teamer for life and Ellison. Officially, Draft is Poslusny’s back-up although I’ve seen him on the field quite a bit. What I’ve seen since Jauron has taken control is a marked reliance on young guy’s, with potential talent, as starters, being backed up by young guys with marginal talent or lifetime castoffs.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
What’s the impact? Serious drop off in talent and reshuffling if there are any injuries. Although this is usually the case with any team…the poor planning or strategy by the Bills makes the impact more painful. And when I wrote strategy, it’s more a plan based on hope…hope that your guy won’t get injured.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
Wasn’t Chambers plan B at both tackle positions a couple of years ago?
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
Last year. And he was good. This year, not so much.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
by MattRichWarren on Nov 10, 2009 3:00 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t know if it’s as dramatic as you say between Butler and Scott. Butler is clearly better but we’re talking about something like three bad plays a game better.
What I’ve seen since Jauron has taken control is a marked reliance on young guy’s, with potential talent, as starters, being backed up by young guys with marginal talent or lifetime castoffs.
That’s what every team does in the salary cap era.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG
by MattRichWarren on Nov 10, 2009 2:59 PM EST up reply actions
Yea
He stands next to McCargo on the sideline.
by jpheff on Nov 9, 2009 5:02 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Hahahahah....rec'd
"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa
As I said
Edwards, as soon as he was cleared to play, would be back as the starter, not Fitzy who is strictly a backup.
Vick a Buffalo Bill? Why not? He might fit in with the rest of the criminals. Actually, the answer, “because he sucks.” He’s no more an NFL QB than the other schmucks we have.
My biggest fear
Is that the Bills finish 7-9 or improve to 8-8, especially with the return of a few players. They don’t play a team with a winning record until week 15, when they play two great teams and one solid club down the homestretch. Under this scenario, it is conceivable that DJ could remain as HC and the FO without any major shake-up. The latter would be particularly disappointing Imagine starting next season hoping that it’s Trent’s breakout year…or a draft featuring another undersized DE (Erik Flowers anyone?)…or miss out on solid free agents, preferring instead to take say novenas for the health of the starters.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
Not to worry
The Bills have no shot at 8 and 8 and very little chance at 7 and 9. Anytime you start to worry about the Bills actually winning force yourself to remember that the Bill lost to the Browns at home 6 to 3. That was probably the worst exhibition of football in the history of the NFL.
thanks
I forgot about the Cleveland game…trauma induced amnesia caused by watching the game. I still don’t believe that it was the Bills in those uniforms. I read that strange lights were observed floating in the sky above Orchard Park the night before the game.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
I think Poz, Draft, and Harris are the best three LBs we can field, healthy or not (with the exception of Kawika). No yikes there. Frankly I think we aren’t going to see the same dink and dunk Edwards. He won’t turn into Peyton, but QBs come off of concussions and play differently. Granted, it’s not usually better, but on that, will it honestly be worse than his previous play? Maybe it will have pissed him off or knocked some veangeful aggressiveness into him.
Mmmph rrgh prrmf! - someone with his mouth gagged
Lets certainly hope that Edwards plays with a new sense about himself. I am just worried that he will have all but completely retreated into his shell.
In a previous post a couple of weeks ago, someone speculated that maybe the most recent concussion will knock out the memories of the last one (against Arizona). Trent wasn’t the same since that hit, so perhaps this will have a negating effect and we’ll get the pre-Arizona Trent back. One can only hope.
BTW: I’m still wondering how a QB on his knees can be driven backward by two defensive guys and then have is head twisted and ground into the turf without a penalty being called.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
Just for laughs
QB……………..Team……….Gms…Comp/Att…Yds…Pct…Yds/Gm…Yds/Att….TD…Int
Trent Edwards…Buffalo………. 6……..91/153…..985…59.5…164.2………6.4……..5…..6
JP Losman……..Las Vegas…..4……..86/134…..994…64.2…248.5………7.4……..8…..2
No I’m not a JP fan and no you can’t compare the talent level between both leagues (excluding Cleveland and Tampa Bay of course). I just think that it’s interesting. Our old friend is doing better under coach Fassel. Perhaps he may find his way back to the majors.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
Even Cleveland would crush a UFL (is that what it’s called?) team. They would blow out one of those teams by a far greater margain than they’re getting blown out by in the NFL. I’m pretty sure that JP could have found a job in the NFL if he really wanted one. I think he just turned down crappy offers to compete for a backup spot until it was too late for him to realize that those were the only offers he was going to get.
I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute
That’s if he got any offers at all. I do have a feeling that starting in the AA minors for a while will do him a world of good, especially under an offensive guy like Fassel. Yeah, the UFL couldn’t hold the NFL’s sweaty jock-strap, but JP has a better shot at getting the one busted body part working again…his brain. After the UFL folds in a year or two, the guy may actually have a shot at the AAA CFL. After that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he found his way back to the NFL, albeit in a back-up role.
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
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